Kishin Shinoyama is probably one of the most famous photographers in Japan. Winner of the Mainichi Art Prize in 1980 and the Golden Eye Prize in 1998, Shinoyama has made a name for himself by photographing famous people. His photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the album cover of Double Fantasy in 1980 gave him additional recognition outside of Japan. In subsequent years, he dedicated himself to photographing women, especially famous actresses and singers such Seiko Matsuda (Five Seasons, 1986) and Rie Miyazawa (Santa Fe, 1991).

Shinoyama regularly has solo exhibitions of his work, and next month, he is planning an exhibition entitled: "La Vie En Rose" at Art Salon SCÈNE, a beautiful, invitation-only gallery in the Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo celebrating its first anniversary by hosting the famous photographer's works.

However, when one of the promotional photos from the exhibition—featuring actress and singer Hikari Mitsushima on a beach clinging onto the branches of a giant piece of driftwood with her head arched backwards towards the camera—began to circulate online, the unconventional pose and the sepia monochrome of the print seems to have caused some confusion about what Shinoyama actually captured with his camera.

If you're a fan of Kishin Shinoyama's photography and would like to see the exhibit for yourself, please note that it will run from October 14 to December 22. Public days will only be Thursdays from 2pm to 8pm, so unless you have an invitation, you should probably try to attend during those hours. For more information about Art Salon SCÈNE, please visit their website.